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Monday, February 06, 2012

Petite Millie @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya

"Good things to eat...one of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." says Luciano Pavarotti in Pavarotti, My Own Story

How apt indeed coming from that man with the great appetite.

I must admit I often find myself rushing in between work assignments, grabbing a quick bite that I find that meal so unsatisfying like I never ate anything.

At Petite Millie, the baby sister of the fine dining stalwart Millesime, I reckon I may have found new life to eating since everything from our lunch definitely sated us completely.

The bistro is one of the many new faces in the 1 Utama mall that recently went through a cosmetic nip and tuck. Earlier known as the "old wing", it has gone through a big revamp that seen some old timers fade away (what happened to Mark's Assam Laksa?) and new places crop up at every corner.

Fervent diners would have visited Millesime where Max Chin holds court. Well known for his creativity and respect towards ingredients, it is no surprise that the bistro offers a breath of fresh air in the KL dining scene.

While in terms of looks it bears not much difference with what is currently in vogue - cement minimalist walls, black boards and etc, it is the menu that draws us in.

First of all, their secret weapon is the Poutine. "Apa tu?" you may ask.

As I was enlightened by Splashie Boy (not the most gourmet of persons), this is something found in the east side of Canada (he ate it before in Ottawa) - chunky french fries drenched in brown gravy. He once had it for lunch just off a food truck (termed roadside chip wagons per wikipedia). While wikipedia describes it as being served with cheese curds, he remembers just eating it without any. Nevertheless, it stuck to his food memory since it was one helluva tummy satisfying meal.

Here the humble Canadian fast food snack gets a stylish revamp with all those luxurious flourishes that pushes it up the gourmet track.

We sampled the Poutine Cheek (RM26) - a deadly combo of six hour braised beef cheek, freshly ground pepper and a dash of truffle oil. Incredibly comforting for the tummy, who can say no to such a lethal mix of ingredients. I especially liked the sliced onions and the two types of mushrooms added in the whole mix - shimeji and button mushrooms.

Aside from this variety, you can choose from five more types including one called Daniel B (I suspect it is named after a certain Mr. Boulud) that has an egg mollett, ratatouille. There is even a cute one called Very Atas One! with thinly sliced beef, blue cheese crumbs and caramelised onions. Prices range from RM20.50 to RM26 for these items and will be enough to feed one starving tummy or two not so hungry persons.

If Poutine is not your thing, don't worry they have the Tarte Flambee - their version of pizza that reminds me of Flams. These thin dough smeared with creme fraiche and different toppings. We try the Avocado & Crab (RM19.50) that is topped with crab meat, avocado slices and lemon thyme oil. I like the thin texture of it and its combination is not too overpowering so it makes a nice appetizer or a light meal for a small eater. On its side, they serve salad leaves, sliced cherry tomato and olives, dressed in a little olive oil. There are more varieties (5 more) such as the classic Pissaladiere with a price range from RM16.50 to RM19.50.

There were only two of us but we stuffed our faces in. Since one could not leave without ordering the mains and desserts, the tummies were filled to the brim.

For the main, we choose the "Mac and Cheese" that is described as twisted in the menu (RM34.50). This was essentially penne tossed in gorgonzola cheese cream with a scatter of sunflower seeds and topped with two perfectly seared scallops. Eat this hot as it tastes so good - creamy and aromatic that you keep scooping it up to the mouth even though we were so full.

Since Petite Millie is very new (she only opened her doors to the world last week on the third day of Chinese New Year), the dessert menu is not ready yet. Instead we had their solo dessert, an apple crumble (RM16.90) served with amarena cherry ice cream. We love this - soft and crumbly pastry that encases apple slices with raisins and of course the ice cream is to die for. I reckon we will be back for desserts next week when they unveil it. Just reading the menu makes my mouth water - I spy sticky date and toffee pudding, lemongrass pumpkin creme brulee, blueberry ricotta beignets (that french cekodok), caramelised packham pear and salted caramel bread pudding and etc..., you get the gist why I am making a return trip here.

There's loads to eat here, they serve tartine sandwiches on buttered country breads, there are salads and nibbles such as Max's classics like romaine lettuce and smoked piquillo pepper wrap with seared tuna loin, crushed feta and gazpacho vinaigrette, soups, mains such as oven roasted lamb loin served with aubergine lentil mash, bourguignonne style beef bavette and etc.

Prices for the Tartine range from RM20.50 to RM38. The RM38 one is big enough for two to share that comes piled with gourmet garnishes. Mains range from RM28 to RM40.50 which is the beef bavette. Sweets are priced from RM12.50 to RM16.50.

Service is polite and fast. I like how they also replicate Millesime's bag "container" that lets you store your handbag at the bottom of the table. You may need to keep your eye on it if you sit near the entrance. However if you sit near the corner, it should be safe enough if you keep it close enough.

(Pork Free. For February until the 29th, they have a special promotion where you can have dine on a Poutine, Tartine or Tarte Flambee of the day on them. All you need to do is produce a valid name card with an office address located at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Sri Pentas, KPMG Tower, Plaza IBM, One World Hotel and 1 First Avenue. Terms and conditions do apply so ask them for further details. Keep in touch with their facebook page. More pictures are in the Flickr set.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Gosh I so remember the melt in the mouth cheeks. Will check this place out when we're there. It would be interesting to see if their desserts are up to mark as far as I know Max is not so super on desserts unless he has a superb pastry chef :p

it's sad that you had some pretty unsatisfying meals when you are at work. i understand how that feels. :( when i'm at uni, i had to settle for some less than average food. it makes eating pretty unpleasant and ruins my day. however, things have changed. i'm pretty glad that the uni has decided to include better bistros.

i hope the same for you too. :) a new year of better food and of course, better company. :D